Top pollster <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/frank-luntz">Frank Luntz</a>’s focus group overwhelmingly decided that Sen. JD Vance from Ohio was the victor against Minnesota Governor Tim Walz in the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cbs-vp-debate-moderators-blasted-for-fact-checking-vance-and-cutting-his-mic">CBS Vice Presidential debate</a>.
Wednesday on <a href="https://x.com/FrankLuntz/status/1841521956035952733">X</a>, Luntz shared a clip of his post-debate focus group and wrote, “An overwhelming majority (12-2) said JD Vance won the debate, and also felt he was far better at communicating the MAGA agenda than Donald Trump.”
In the clip shared by the pollster, the focus group analyzed the responses of both former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mates — and found that it wasn&#8217;t even close.
Some of the answers the group gave were that Vance appeared “very battle-tested, very ready. You could just see he went to Yale and he’s very intelligent.” Another person added, “his strong control of the facts,” noting that Vance “ran the show.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
I joined <a href="https://twitter.com/sarasidnerCNN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SaraSidnerCNN</a> this morning to share results from my <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/VPDebate?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#VPDebate</a> focus group.
An overwhelming majority (12-2) said JD Vance won the debate, and also felt he was far better at communicating the MAGA agenda than Donald Trump. <a href="https://t.co/3aalhnhBX0">pic.twitter.com/3aalhnhBX0</a>
— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) <a href="https://twitter.com/FrankLuntz/status/1841521956035952733?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 2, 2024</a></blockquote>
One person said that Vance “humanized himself and actually looked like a regular guy.” The last comment will most likely please the Trump team after it had to battle a perception for weeks — created by Walz and the Democratic party — that Vance was “weird.”
Speaking to CNN, Luntz pointed out that the focus group loved both candidates and, if they could, they would reverse the tickets of the Republicans and Democrats, placing Vance and Walz at the top of the ticket for president.
He also said that only twice in his career, has he had a focus group that had such an overwhelmingly positive feeling about one candidate over the other as this one did about Vance.  However, he did not explain further what the other example was. 
When pressed by CNN how the group felt about Walz, he said they felt the first 30 minutes the Gov. was “stumbling” and “struggled,” but got better as the debate went on. He also said the focus group didn’t give him as high marks as Vance because they were critical of how Walz wasn’t “answering the questions” that the moderators posed to him.
The opinion that Walz did not beat Vance seemed to be a consistent one, as political commentators on the Left quickly pivoted their views to say that vice presidential debates don&#8217;t matter and are inconsequential, as previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/walz-falls-flat-in-debate-and-dems-pivot-from-consequential-vp-kamala-to-vps-control-nothing">reported</a>.
“Here’s the thing,” <a href="https://x.com/davidaxelrod/status/1841290392106328207">David Axelrod</a>, a former Barack Obama advisor, said. “VPs don’t make policy. Presidents do. Who talks about the Pence years?!?”
“I actually think most Americans fundamentally understand that the VP is not the President,” former Missouri Senator and MSNBC contributor <a href="https://x.com/clairecmc/status/1841303520655417476">Claire McCaskill</a> added.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/top-pollster-predicts-vances-debate-performance-will-sway-undecided-voters" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Top Pollster Predicts Vance’s Debate Performance Will Sway Undecided Voters</a>

JD Vance/Tim Walz

Top Pollster’s Focus Group Overwhelmingly Gives Victory To Vance Over Walz In VP Debate

Top Pollster's Focus Group Overwhelmingly Gives Victory To Vance Over Walz In VP Debate

2024 Election

Donald Trump

Frank Luntz

JD Vance

Kamala Harris

Politics

Polls

Tim Walz

Pollster Frank Luntz told Fox News following the vice presidential debate on Wednesday night that Vice President Mike Pence was the winner of the debate, saying that voters were turned off by Harris&#8217; &#8220;condescending&#8221; and &#8220;abrasive&#8221; attitude toward Pence.
&#8220;The complaint about Kamala Harris was that she was abrasive and condescending,&#8221; said Luntz, who analyzed reactions from voters in various swing states. &#8220;The complaint about Mike Pence was that he was too tired, but [he was] vice presidential, or presidential. If this is a battle over style and substance — which is often the case with undecided voters because they simply do not choose on policy, they also choose on persona — this was Mike Pence’s night.&#8221;
Luntz said that voters disliked the candidates dodging questions but overall they were much happier with the way the debate went vs. the way the first debate went.
Luntz said that while voters were frustrated with the vice president for repeatedly running over his allotted time, &#8220;Harris’ reactions to Pence — the smiling, the smirking, the scowling&#8217; left them far &#8216;angrier&#8217; with her performance,&#8221; Fox News reported.
Luntz said that voters were &#8220;more agitated with Kamala&#8217;s presentation than they were with Mike Pence.&#8221;
&#8220;I’ll be blunt with you. If there are no more presidential debates, then Joe Biden is the next president of the United States, and I have no hesitation in saying that. I know that there will be eruptions all over 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue,&#8221; Luntz <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/no-hesitation-frank-luntz-says-biden-will-be-the-next-president-if-there-are-no-more-presidential-debates">said</a>. &#8220;Donald Trump needs those debates to bring the answers that he has and the challenges that Joe Biden has to the American people.&#8221;
&#8220;Without that, Joe Biden can coast,&#8221; Luntz added. &#8220;Doesn’t need to go to events. And he wins based on the current polling numbers. So Trump needs debates. However, I have faith in the presidential commission that they will do the right thing, and the people on that commission put their country ahead of their party, and that’s brilliant.&#8221;

COMBO-US-VOTE-DEBATE

Independent Pollster: Voters Turned Off By ‘Condescending’ Harris, Pence ‘Was The Winner’

2020 Election

Mike Pence

News media editors revealed their political disconnection from the nation in revealing how few people they know in their personal or professional circles who voted for Donald Trump.

Yahoo&#8217;s Katie Couric asked the editorial heads of The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, CNBC, TIME, and The Atlantic about people they know who voted for Trump during a discussion entitled, &#8220;Truth in the Trump Era.&#8221; 

Partial transcript below.

<blockquote>
KATIE COURIC: Frank Luntz asked reporters this question: Of the twenty people you see every day, you interact with, your friends, your family, your co-workers &#8212; how many of them voted for Donald Trump?
JEFFREY GOLDBERG (The Atlantic): Zero.
NANCY GIBBS (TIME): Yeah, I think not many, and that&#8217;s something I remind our newsroom of a lot, that the environment that they&#8217;re operating in and living in is not a demographically accurate mirror of the country.
NIKHIL DEOGUN (CNBC): We are the exception as a business network, but, I wouldn&#8217;t say half but probably pretty close. If I count friends, family, my wife and her family in Ohio, and I work at a business network, and you know, a fair number of people, probably not half, but probably a little under that.
JOANNE LIPMAN (USA Today): Actually, there&#8217;s a few among our close friends and family, and I actually really try to spend some time talking with them and understanding, and making sure &#8212; we had a very interesting Thanksgiving, I will tell you that. But it was civil, a lot of liquor, but very civil.
KATIE COURIC: How many, though? Out of twenty? 
NANCY GIBBS (TIME): I would say a minority, but there are a few.
GERARD BAKER (The Wall Street Journal): Of course most of the people in the media don&#8217;t move in those circles. For a business newspaper, there was a lot of support for Donald Trump among CEOs. I&#8217;d say, among a lot of the people we know, I&#8217;d say less than half, but more than a quarter.
</blockquote>


Follow Robert Kraychik on <a href="https://twitter.com/kr3ch3k">Twitter</a>.
<div class="embed video fluid-video"><iframe loading="lazy" width="480" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qdFqzBNqOu8?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>

Bubble Revealed: Top News Editors Asked If They Know Any Trump Voters

Katie Couric

Media

Media Bias

On Saturday, well-known pollster and Fox contributor Frank Luntz allegedly had <a href="http://www.mediaite.com/tv/i-never-thought-this-would-be-america-frank-luntz-says-he-was-attacked-by-anti-trump-protesters/">red paint thrown on him</a> by an anti-Trump protester. Luntz issued two tweets regarding the incident:
<div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Marriott Marquis lobby is full of drunk, angry protesters harassing paying customers.
If you&#8217;re still in DC, avoid this area. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WomensMarch?src=hash">#WomensMarch</a> <a href="https://t.co/Nkmcqx1Yk8">pic.twitter.com/Nkmcqx1Yk8</a>
&#8212; Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) <a href="https://twitter.com/FrankLuntz/status/822947102506500098">January 21, 2017</a></blockquote>
</div>
<div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
I got red paint thrown on me and called a &#8220;fascist MF&#8217;er&#8221; by a protester here.
The <a href="https://twitter.com/Marriott">@Marriott</a> let it happen. 
Shame on them. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WomensMarch?src=hash">#WomensMarch</a>
&#8212; Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) <a href="https://twitter.com/FrankLuntz/status/822947565033365504">January 21, 2017</a></blockquote>
</div>
On Sunday, appearing on Fox &amp; Friends, Luntz doubled down on his story, asserting, &#8220;A woman walked up to me in the Marriott Marquis and she shouted, &#8216;you fascist,&#8217; and then two other words that would get me fired from your network. And she threw this red confetti glitter right in my eyes and she picked up another handful and she no further than 6 inches away and I was covered with this stuff.&#8221;
He added, &#8220;Since when do you have the right or ability to attack someone in a private setting? I never thought this would be America. I never thought this would happen in this country.&#8221;
Of course, as usual, anti-Trump protesters display their ignorance; Luntz may not be the biggest fan of Trump, especially since in August 2015 Trump <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4856Odve8X4">called him</a>, &#8220;a dunce, as far as I&#8217;m concerned. I mean, you know, this guy is a major loser.&#8221;
Video of Luntz speaking about the incident starting at 2:05 of the video <a href="http://insider.foxnews.com/2017/01/22/frank-luntz-recounts-hotel-assault-trump-inauguration-protester-washington-marriott">here</a>.
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Watch the latest video at &lt;a href=&#8221;http://video.foxnews.com&#8221;&gt;video.foxnews.com&lt;/a&gt;
</div>
<div>
Watch the latest video at &lt;a href=&#8221;http://video.foxnews.com&#8221;&gt;video.foxnews.com&lt;/a&gt;
</div>
<div>
Watch the latest video at &lt;a href=&#8221;http://video.foxnews.com&#8221;&gt;video.foxnews.com&lt;/a&gt;
</div>

Fox News Contributor Says He Was Attacked By Anti-Trump Protesters

Donald Trump had a singular goal going into Sunday&#8217;s presidential debate: Stop the bleeding.
After The Washington Post published <a href="http://www.dailywire.com/news/9796/tape-trump-women-may-finish-his-campaign-hank-berrien">audio from a 2005 conversation</a> between Trump and media personality Billy Bush in which the GOP nominee speaks about women with extremely graphic and predatory language, traditional and social media were set on fire.
Pollster Frank Luntz had a focus group of undecided Missouri voters watch the debate, and rate the candidates&#8217; answers, as well as their overall performance. After the event was finished, Luntz asked the group, &#8220;Which candidate had the biggest impact on your vote tonight?&#8221; 18 of the 30 focus group participants chose Trump, while only five selected Clinton.
He asked for short phrases to describe Donald Trump:
<blockquote>
&#8220;I still feel he&#8217;s skirting the issues.&#8221;
&#8220;Much improved.&#8221;
&#8220;Calm and strong.&#8221;
&#8220;The bar is set so low for him.&#8221;
&#8220;He seemed more presidential.&#8221;
</blockquote>
Luntz then played two back-to-back clips of Trump defending the leaked audio&#8211;one in which Trump did very well with the group, and one in which he crashed and burned.
First, the good:
<blockquote>
TRUMP: &#8220;I apologize to my family, I apologize to the American people. Certainly I&#8217;m not proud of it, but this is locker-room talk. You know, when we have a world where you have ISIS chopping off heads, and frankly, drowning people in steel cages; where you have wars and horrible, horrible sights all over&#8230;&#8221;
</blockquote>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" alt class="media-element file-default" data-fid="12531" data-media-element="1" height="393" src="https://dw-wp-dev.imgix.net/2019/09/image_6.jpeg" width="700" /></div>
While the dials of the Clinton-leaning undecideds shot down, and stayed down, the dials of Trump-leaning undecideds and fully undecideds went up.
Now, the bad:
<blockquote>
TRUMP: &#8220;I have great respect for women; nobody has more more respect for women than I do. I said things that, frankly, you hear these things.&#8221;
</blockquote>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" alt class="media-element file-default" data-fid="12532" data-media-element="1" height="393" src="https://dw-wp-dev.imgix.net/2019/09/image_7.jpeg" width="700" /></div>
Trump&#8217;s apology plus the pivot to a worldwide issue of importance seemed to give many undecided voters a good impression. However, when Trump employed his usual &#8220;nobody has more more respect for women than I do&#8221; line, and tried to shift blame, undecideds decidedly didn&#8217;t like that.
Things took an interesting turn when several participants argued amongst themselves about Trump&#8217;s words.
One male participant said that actions should speak louder than words, but the female to his right wasn&#8217;t having it, asserting, &#8220;I don&#8217;t think it should be put behind him. This is an issue of character. I have daughters.&#8221; The man responded by saying that &#8220;it&#8217;s locker-room talk. I have buddies who have never done anything wrong&#8230;&#8221; He was then cut off by another participant.
While the male participant seemed to believe that &#8220;locker-room talk&#8221; isn&#8217;t a big deal, some other participants simply saw it as a core character issue that cannot be overcome or undone with a single debate performance.
On the other side of things, <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/10/2016-presidential-debate-cnn-poll-229516">CNN/ORC</a> conducted an official post-debate poll, which had 57% of viewers calling the debate for Clinton, and 34% for Trump. A marked improvement from the last round, but still a sharp divide. 63% said Trump did better than they expected.
However, of those surveyed, 58% were alleged Clinton supporters. So until further polling is conducted, take that with a grain of salt.

image_6

‘Undecideds’ Focus Group Loved Trump Last Night, But Had Big Beef with ‘Locker-Room Talk’

Hillary Clinton

The general consensus across the political spectrum on the debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton was that Clinton won the debate.
Whether it was focus groups, conservative news outlets, conservative pundits, or markets, the most positive opinion of Trump&#8217;s performance was that he did well in the first half-hour, but soured after that, triggered by questions about his lack of transparency over his finances.
CBS News pollster Frank Luntz <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/undecided-pennsylvania-voters-on-who-they-think-won-the-presidential-debate/">conducted</a> a poll of 22 Pennsylvania voters after the debate; 16 said they thought Clinton had won; only six voted for Trump. One voter said, &#8220;I felt a little better&#8230; I think she (Clinton) did come through as being comfortable and presidential.&#8221; 
Another offered, &#8220;He went off message. Recently he has been very good with his speeches, and his appearances, where he has stayed on message&#8230;tonight he went back to attack.&#8221; A third commented, &#8220;He was completely offensive. He lost me on the racial unity. And that&#8217;s where I draw the line.&#8221;
<a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/heres-whats-changed-for-stock-markets-now-the-first-clinton-trump-debate-is-over-2016-09-27">Market Watch</a> reported that the Mexican peso rose after the debate, indicating a Clinton victory, as Trump has slammed free trade agreements that benefit the peso. <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-09-27/how-clinton-beat-trump-in-their-first-debate-by-the-numbers">Bloomberg</a> reported that according to PredictWise, Clinton&#8217;s chances of winning the election rose from 69% before the debate to 73 percent afterward. Bloomberg added, &#8220;Clinton&#8217;s odds of winning several battleground states also improved over a comparable four-hour period: by nine points in North Carolina, four points in New Hampshire, and three points each in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Colorado.&#8221;
Two left-leaning polls favored Clinton: CNN found Clinton leading 62%-27%; PPP found her winning 51%-40%.
But that sentiment was <a href="http://heatst.com/politics/the-consensus-is-that-donald-trump-choked-will-he-stop-debating/?mod=sm_tw_post">reflected</a> among conservatives, too; right-leaning Fox News titled two headlines thus: &#8220;Hillary won the first debate,&#8221; and &#8220;Trump struggles, Hillary clings to facts and figures.&#8221;
<blockquote>
&#8220;Clinton bested Trump in the first presidential debate according to a variety of metrics, and the odds are that she&#8217;ll gain in head-to-head polls over Trump in the coming days.&#8221;
Nate Silver
</blockquote>
Trump-supporting pundits agreed: John Nolte: &#8220;Trump blew a number of opportunities. Too defensive. Explained too much. Should&#8217;ve ignored bait. Hit her on Benghazi, server, etc.&#8221; Daniel Braban: &#8220;Trump lost badly. We have to be honest.&#8221; Bill Mitchell: &#8220;It&#8217;s not who wins the debate&#8230; it&#8217;s who wins the week after the debate.&#8221;
As Nate Silver <a href="http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/clinton-won-the-debate-which-means-shes-likely-to-gain-in-the-polls/?ex_cid=538twitter">summed up</a>:
<blockquote>
Clinton bested Trump in the <a href="http://fivethirtyeight.com/live-blog/first-presidential-debate-election-2016/">first presidential debate</a> according to a variety of metrics, and the odds are that she&#8217;ll gain in head-to-head polls over Trump in the coming days. Start with a <a href="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2016/images/09/27/poll.pdf">CNN poll of debate-watchers</a>, which showed that 62 percent of voters thought Clinton won the debate compared to 27 percent for Trump &#8212; a 35-point margin. That&#8217;s the third-widest margin ever in a CNN or Gallup post-debate poll, which date back to 1984 &#8230; the CNN survey also historically correlates fairly well with movement in the post-election polls.
</blockquote>

What Do The Numbers Say About Who Won The Debate?

Fox News

Nate Silver

Poll

According to the focus group for laughably-inaccurate pollster Frank Luntz, the candidate that won Thursday&#8217;s GOP presidential debate was &#8230; Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R).
Here&#8217;s the full breakdown of Luntz&#8217;s focus group:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
My 25-person focus group&#8217;s picks for winner tonight:
&#8226; <a href="https://twitter.com/JohnKasich">@JohnKasich</a>: 18 
&#8226; <a href="https://twitter.com/tedcruz">@TedCruz</a>: 6 
&#8226; <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump">@realDonaldTrump</a>: 1 
&#8226; <a href="https://twitter.com/marcorubio">@MarcoRubio</a>: 0<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOPDebate?src=hash">#GOPDebate</a>
&#8212; Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) <a href="https://twitter.com/FrankLuntz/status/705605696549687296">March 4, 2016</a></blockquote>
<a href="http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2016/03/04/frank-luntz-asks-focus-group-who-won-the-debate-members-shock-with-this-candidate/">The Blaze</a> reports:
<blockquote>
When asked for a show of hands, the majority of members agreed on Kasich, who they said was the &#8220;only adult in the room&#8221; and was &#8220;mature&#8221; in his discourse.
The voters revealed very negative feelings about the debate, saying it was an &#8220;embarrassment,&#8221; &#8220;shameful&#8221; and &#8220;despicable,&#8221; voicing disapproval over the tone of the discussion and the personal attacks that ensued. One even described the evening as a &#8220;schoolyard brawl.&#8221;
</blockquote>
Luntz&#8217;s focus groups should be taken with a grain of salt, as they are typically less reliable than a Magic-8 ball. After the first debate in August, Luntz essentially declared Trump&#8217;s candidacy dead since many members of his focus group came in as Trump supporters and soured on him by the end of the debate. Obviously, the implosion of Trump&#8217;s candidacy did not occur then and six months later it still has not happened.
Dr. Lonna Rae Atkeson, director of the Center for Voting, Elections and Democracy at the University of New Mexico, illustrated the problems with Luntz&#8217;s focus group to <a href="http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/whats-the-matter-with-frank-luntz/article/2570431">The Washington Examiner</a>:
<blockquote>
&#8220;We can only make it about those people in the focus group,&#8221; she said. &#8220;If we started out at 10 supporters and you go down to three, that&#8217;s all you can say. You can&#8217;t say that same decline would be seen in the broader electorate.&#8221;
&#8220;The unique thing about a focus group is they all sat there and watched,&#8221; Atkeson said. &#8220;Whereas 90 percent of the public didn&#8217;t watch the debate or think about it at all. That&#8217;s a huge difference.&#8221;
</blockquote>
<a href="http://www.redstate.com/streiff/2016/03/04/frank-luntz-trump-university-focus-groups/">RedState</a>&#8216;s streiff explains further:
<blockquote>
First, it is impossible to create a group model in a focus group. On one project I ran for National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the client wanted &#8220;two Hispanics, an elderly black woman, a three-toed red haired gypsy, etc.&#8221; (just joking about the last one). What they were trying to do with at twelve person focus group was create an demographic sample. You can&#8217;t do that. No matter how you choose them, you&#8217;ve just got a dozen plus people. Second, focus groups are only useful if you are using them in conjunction with a larger poll.
</blockquote>
In other words, the idea that Luntz&#8217;s focus group is reflective of the overall populace is simply bogus. It&#8217;s also worth noting that Luntz is no fan of conservatives, as leftist rag Mother Jones has a recording of Luntz <a href="http://spectator.org/blog/53617/problematic-frank-luntzs-stockholm-syndrome">saying,</a> &#8220;If you take&#8212;Marco Rubio&#8217;s getting his ass kicked. Who&#8217;s my Rubio fan here? We talked about it. He&#8217;s getting destroyed! By Mark Levin, by Rush Limbaugh, and a few others. He&#8217;s trying to find a legitimate, long-term effective solution to immigration that isn&#8217;t the traditional Republican approach, and talk radio is killing him. That&#8217;s what&#8217;s causing this thing underneath. And too many politicians in Washington are playing coy.&#8221;
<blockquote>
&#8220;Frank Luntz saying how there was such a negative response to the debate, yet as his dials went sky high with Cruz talking, he cut away.&#8221;
Daniel Horowitz
</blockquote>
With that in mind, this can&#8217;t be a coincidence:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Frank luntz saying how there was such a negative response to the debate, yet as his dials went sky high with Cruz talking, he cut away
&#8212; Daniel Horowitz (@RMConservative) <a href="https://twitter.com/RMConservative/status/705620480422580230">March 4, 2016</a></blockquote>
Only in a Frank Luntz focus group could Kasich be the winner of that debate.

Who Won The Luntz Debate Focus Group? The Answer Will Surprise You.

John Kasich

Ted Cruz

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